Its simple. We played a lot of our early games against strong western opponents. If you just look at the games we've played against eastern opponents our record is 8 wins and 8 losses. Obviously other factors combined gave the team a brutal start but I believe this was one of the major reasons why.

1) Jose is starting
2) Schedule has been easier
3) Lowry is passing better - coming off the Bench (then he did as a Starter)
4) Bench - 2nd in the League (over Jose stretch). November (14th), December (4th), January (2nd)
5) Team defense has picked up - simply because players have done it as a TEAM, although 2011-12 Raps were still better.
6) Back Court Offense - November (19th), December (4th), January (1st)
5) During the Jose stretch, Raptors have been No. 1 in Pts out of the paint
6) Opponent 3 point shooting % - November (25th), December (8th), January (1st) - .244
7) Assists - November (21st), December (11th), January (2nd)

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What are NOT reasons (for Winning):

1) F/Ta - Raptors actually trended down with January being the lowest total.
2) 3 Point Shooting (by the Raps) - Marginal increase (< 1.0 made shot)
3) Opponent Points in the Paint [Defending] - November (18th), December (30th), January (11th) - 5 games